Runway Race Issues on the Rise

Ignoring Diversity, Runways Fade to White
By: Guy Trebay, October 14th, 2007
The New York Times

An article from The New York Times recently looked at the issue of diversity on fashion runways. This past fall during fashion weeks, it was noticeable that there were less African American models than there have been in the past. Although African American women spend $20 billion dollars a year on high fashion items, there was no representation of black women actually wearing the clothing. During the New York runway season, out of 101 fashions shows, over 1/3 had no black models. When the shows moved overseas to Paris and London, there were signs hung outside of the doors of designers like Chanel and Chloe the read “No Blacks Need Apply”. This was an appalling statistic to find because the racial issues in this country seemed to have improved ten fold. From the acting industry to political positions, it seemed and though African Americans were equal to the white population of our country. It doesn’t seem that way in the fashion industry, though, and I think it’s a bit sad. The idea of a beautiful model has changed in the past 10 years from the “Glamazons” of the early 90’s, to the 100 pound, less than gorgeous women who walk the runways of today. There is room for every race to show beautiful clothing, and I think everyone should be given a chance.